𝗽𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗵𝗼𝗯𝗶𝗮 ᵖʰⁱˡ ᶠᵒᵈᵉⁿ

𝟬𝟭𝟬

Maeve assumed the fair-haired woman was typing something on the computer to find out where this awful gathering was taking effect.  "Floor 23. Unfortunately, the lift is not operational, so-"

Maeve started walking away, saying a short thank you to the woman. She decided to sprint up the stairs so she wouldn't become too tired. She was well aware that her reasoning was incorrect.

She was out of breath by the time she got to the fifth floor. The girl was on the verge of collapsing at the eighth floor. She took a break on floor nineteen, and by the time she got to floor twenty-three, she was in tears.

The modern building's walls were largely made of glass, which did not provide much seclusion for the people who worked here. She strolled along the corridor, peering into each door, until she came upon her manager's curly brown hair.

"I'm here," she said as she pushed through the door. She needed to start working out she thought, while holding her knees to try and catch her uneven breathes. Sabrina gave her a disapproving look, as a mother might to a disobedient child.

"How nice of you to join us, Maevey." Phil was lying on a leather couch in the meeting room, and the girl rotated her head to see him. "What is he doing here?" she questioned deflated.

"Maeve, please take a seat, we're already thirty minutes behind." A tall woman with long red hair sat on the couch next Phil, holding a laptop and a folder. She appeared to be quite formal.

Maeve took a seat across from them, and when she made eye contact with Phil, he winked at her. She pulled a face of pure disgust and gave him the middle finger in return.

The girl's manager took a seat next to her and quickly began conversing. "Before either of you object, let us finish speaking." The two of them nodded and waited for one of the elder women to speak up.

"Myself and Sabrina have been speaking, and we think it would be beneficial to both of you, if you were to be in a fake relationship for awhile. The next couple of months, possibly longer."

Maeve and Phil burst out laughing. Maeve held her stomach as Phil slapped his leg, "Oh, I didn't know we had a comedian in the room." Maeve exclaimed pretending to wipe a tear from her eye. "We're not joking." Sabrina said, her tone devoid of humour.

"I'd rather get back with my ex-girlfriend."

"I'd rather die alone."

The two women exchanged defeated looks. They anticipated the two grownups to be more mature and open-minded about this, but they forgot who they were dealing with.

"We're not expecting you to like each other. All we ask is that you put up a show for the the public." The redhead attempted to entice them even farther. Phil paused for a while to consider it. "What would I get out of it?"

"A good reputation," Maeve snorted by accident. "Something you desperately need." Sabrina nodded in agreement, "Yes. And Maeve, you would get good publicity for your new album you're busy writing."

The dark-haired girl's eyes widened; truth be told, she hadn't even started writing for the new album she was being pushed to write. She lacked ambition and ideas, and the pressure from the media and her management drove her to fall short.

"If you want, you can think about it." Phil and Maeve exchanged a brief glance. This situation had a lot of advantages, they knew that.

Phil being in a committed relationship would most likely represent him as more of a family guy than a playboy and party lad. It might even change his habits, although that would require a miracle.

For Maeve, as her manager stated, it would be great exposure that would divert attention away from her lack of music and toward their second favorite issue, her love life. Mason was the only downside she could think of. He'd lose his shit.

As both Maeve and Phil agreed to this arrangement, it became an afterthought. They had no notion what was going to happen or how it was going to function. Sabrina and the redheaded woman, whose name is Anne, stated they would contact each other and arrange a 'date' for the pair.

"See you later, girlfriend."

"Fuck off, boyfriend."

———
authors note :

ITS TIME TO TAKE THE BOOK UP A NOTCH WOOOHOOOO LETS GO!!!

word count | 1298